1. Technical Field
Present invention embodiments relate to integrating data from different data sources and, more particularly, to resolving conflicts between data between different sources during the integration.
2. Discussion of Related Art
It is sometimes necessary to integrate two or more heterogeneous databases. The integration of heterogeneous databases is known and spans multiple industries, since it is often necessary to combine data from two or more companies or other business entities for access by a single interface. It is particularly important in certain industries (e.g., the healthcare industry) to accurately integrate data between different databases, since any inaccurate information that results from the integration can be serious. For example, in a scenario in which two databases storing data relating to patient information are integrated, any inaccuracies in data resulting from such integration could be life threatening.
Consider an example scenario in which two databases store data in a slightly different format for separate hospitals, where it is desirable to integrate these two databases while allowing these databases to separately maintain their information. It would be desirable, for consistent Electronic Medical Record (EMR) applications, to integrate the databases since patient records may be associated with more than one healthcare provider.
Database systems are provided for allowing a query and edit (e.g., insertion, deletion, update, etc.) of data from two or more integrated databases utilizing a single interface, typically referred to as an “integration hub”. Typically, validation and verification of integrated databases is performed manually, where human interaction (e.g., a database administrator) is required to manually validate and correct errors in the integrated data. This can become an overwhelming and lengthy process that can further be prone to human error.